Have you ever almost completed a game, then made one mistake and had to start all over again? Many games don't have a save-state option, which can be very frustrating. But guess what - there is a way to save ANY dos game and here's a step-by-step guide how to do it.
SETUP
The set-up process can take up to an hour, since you have to create a virtual machine, but once you're done, you can save games in the matter of seconds. Note that Windows XP and at least 1GB RAM is required. You'll also need a CD with Windows 98 (or XP) with the serial number. So, let's begin:
1.) Download and install
Virtual PC 2007
2.) Create a virtual machine:
- start Virtual PC and click New Virtual Machine
- specify the amount of RAM yourself (if you have 1GB RAM - chose 500MB)
3.) Install a guest OS:
- insert CD with Windows
- start a virtual machine you've just created
- click CD > Use Physical Drive (and chose the right one)
- click Action > Reset
- install Windows
4.) Install VM additions:
- eject CD with Windows
- click Action > Install Virtual Machine Additions and follow the instructions
- once it restarted, close your Virtual Machine and select Turn off
5.) Configure Settings
- click Settings
- click Display and check boxes:
- select Only use standard screen resolutions
- check boxes Hide VM menu bar and Hide VM status bar and
- click Close (on the left)
- click Automatically close without a message and Save state
- click OK
6.) Install dos games:
- burn the games on a CD
- start Virtual Machine
- copy the games to hard disk (and install them if necessary)
- and you're done!
HOW TO SAVE THE GAME
- run Virtual PC and start the virtual machine (if it's not already opened)
- start the game and get to the point when you want to save it
- close the virtual machine window (click red X in the upper left corner)
- now open the folder My Virtual Machines (in My Documents) and copy .vsv file
- create a folder (with the name Saved States) in My Documents and paste the vsv file inside
- start the virtual machine again and play the game
HOW TO LOAD THE GAME
- just close the virtual machine window
- copy .vsv file from "Saved States" folder to "My Virtual Machines" folder - replace it!
- start the virtual machine and Voila - the saved state loads
